For those looking for some good advice and fundaes on CAT preparation from a person who has cracked it. Not the same old ragged training that all the coaching classes and newspapers give you

Friday, January 05, 2007

Gyan-e-Ganit

Now, Math is something where you can get hajjar gyan. But it is also important to know that each one has his own way of doing math. Some are comfy with numbers, some with formulas, some with complex arithmetic, and some with geometric angles. So i shall just stick to some very basic rules i feel will help. And as usual that fundaes are different from what others have been telling you, so they are open to critical analysis by anyone who cares to do so. Suggestions, comments are very welcome.

1. Concentrate on your strengths first. If you think you are big time stud in quadratic equations and you are not cracking big time, then it is time to pull up your socks. Remember the basic rule - You need to be in good form get into the top league MBA. And for that you need to be cracking your strong sections.

2. Chuck your weakest sections from your radar. Even the best guy attempts only 50-60% questions in Math. What that means is that you can actually get away without knowing 40-50% of the syllabus. Or atleast 20% of it. So dont rake your brains trying to get hold of something that has never climbed up there all your life. At the same time don’t leave more than 25% of the syllabus out of the radar

3. Write less, think more. The first thing most of the people do after reading a question is to start writing the answer. Being ‘in a hurry’ wont get you there, being ‘quick’ will. CAT math is about thinking. THINK and you shall figure the best way.Corollary 3.1 - minimise written calculation. Thinking is faster than writing. So avoid writing simple calculations. And practice thinking. I have seen people writing 2z = 7, z=7/2=3.5 You are wasting time doing this. And if you cant figure out very simple calculation without writing, I wud be surprised if you come anywhere near cracking CAT

4. Think Simple - Many CAT problems just requires application of thought and not formulas. They are trying to judge you for your understanding the basics.

5. Think of your own short cuts. It gives a strong hold of Math and you need it.

6. Understand a very basic principle - You need to choose an answer and not arrive at it. This is probably the most important idea, but least understood. What it means is that you shud be able to pick an answer when you come close to it.Corollary 6.1 - Many questions are simple to crack by going back from the answer choices. E.g., Finding a square root is more difficult that finding the squareCorollary 6.2 - Approximate the calculations after seeing how close the answers are. And know if your approximate answer would be higher or lower than the actualCorollary 6.3 - Some answers are all about guesses. It takes a quick second to guess and 2 minutes to derive. Crack 2 such questions and you have full four minutes

I shall be adding fundaes as I go along. If you can grasp the depth of these fundaes and implement them, they themselves shall be quiet a handful.